Fulham 1-0 Reading: Cottagers Move 2nd After Important Win Over The Royals

High-flying Fulham welcomed Paul Clement’s Reading to Craven Cottage hoping to close the gap on Cardiff. After Reading started well, Fulham grew into the game and Stefan Johansen put the West Londoners in the lead.

In-form striker Aleksandar Mitrovic had several chances to extend the lead but he wasn’t able to. As Cardiff lost their game, this result puts Fulham into the all-important automatic promotion places, and they will hope to stay there until the end of the season.

Fulham Player Ratings

Marcus Bettinelli – 6.5

Was tested early on but after that, he hardly had a save to make.

Ryan Fredericks – 7

Solid at the back for Fulham, he was only dispossessed once in the entire game.

Denis Odoi – 7

Another strong performance from Odoi at the heart of the Fulham defence. He continues to keep Tomas Kalas out of the team.

Tim Ream – 7.5

A leader on the pitch, Ream kept the Reading strikers at arm’s length all game.

Tim Ream

Matt Targett – 8

Always a threat to the Reading defenders, Matt Targett provided the assist for Johansen to put Fulham in the lead.

Kevin McDonald – 6.5

With a very high 88% pass completion rate, Kevin McDonald was very tidy on the ball throughout this game.

Stefan Johansen – 7.5

Scored a lovely goal after 25 minutes and kept pushing until the 89th minute when he was replaced by Oliver Norwood.

Tom Cairney – 6.5

There were a few touches of brilliance but this was not his best performance.

Lucas Piazon – 7

Ran himself into the ground for his team and was impressive when he had the ball. Was replaced by Kebano in the 80th minute.

Lucas Piazon (on the ball)

Aleksandar Mitrovic – 7

Could have extended Fulham’s lead but he spurned two very presentable chances before the end of the first half. In total, he had 7 shots and will be disappointed not to have added to his impressive goal tally.

Ryan Sessegnon – 7

A quiet game for the young man. Was off the pace at times.

Substitutes

Neeskens Kebano (for Piazon) – 6

A good ten minutes as he works his way back into the team.

Oliver Norwood (for Johansen) N/A

Came on at the last minute so that Johansen could have a standing ovation.